(Credit: VisionTV/ZoomerMedia, screenshot)

Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale announced Dec. 12 that he was going to sue Toronto mayor Rob Ford and VisionTV for  defamation over Ford’s comments about him aired on VisionTV, as iMediaEthics has reported. While Ford never said explicitly the word pedophile, he suggested Dale was by saying that Dale takes pictures of children at night.

Leanne Wright, VP Communications for ZoomerMedia, which owns VisionTV, sent iMediaEthics by email ZoomerMedia’s statement responding to the lawsuit. It aired on The New AM 740 and The New Classical 96.3 FM on Dec. 13, she told us. The statement reads:

“As we’ve been reporting since yesterday, Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale has filed a libel notice over comments made in Conrad Black’s interview with Mayor Rob Ford, which aired on Monday night on Vision TV.  In an interview on the CBC today, Dale explained that he had decided by yesterday morning not to pursue legal action.  However, he says he changed his mind after hearing a subsequent interview Ford gave to a Washington sports radio.  The Washington radio station is not named in the libel notice, which is a first step in a defamation lawsuit.

“Zoomer Media, which owns Vision TV, and this radio station, says that ‘As there is now the threat of legal action, ZoomerMedia will not be making a statement until such time as we can consult with our attorneys to consider the allegations and determine next steps.'”

Toronto Star city hall reporter Robyn Doolittle also tweeted the libel notice sent to Ford and ZoomerMedia.

See below:

The libel notice 1/3 pic.twitter.com/kztmHwKN1m

— robyndoolittle (@robyndoolittle) December 12, 2013

The libel notice 2/3 pic.twitter.com/FlPinqVE3d
— robyndoolittle (@robyndoolittle) December 12, 2013

The libel notice 3/3. pic.twitter.com/53ZKLTld54

— robyndoolittle (@robyndoolittle) December 12, 2013